In the first joint session of the semester on Sept. 19, Student Union (SU) Treasury and Senate approved three new members to the Election Commission. The same night, Treasury representatives allocated $26,479.96 in funding to seven student groups.  

Joint Session

During the joint session, Election Commissioner and senior Constantin Carrigan nominated three new candidates to the Election Commission. The candidates, Ella Horejsi, Mariel Scher, and Justin Zhu, are all members of the class of 2027. Zhu was not in attendance at the session. 

Treasury representative and junior, Saish Satyal, asked if the present candidates had any plans for increasing voter engagement on campus. Horejsi and Scher responded that they believe they have a unique position as members of the freshman class to educate and increase voter turnout among their classmates. Carrigan provided an explanation as to why the election commission has increased in size. He said that in the past, it has not been a self-sustaining body.

“The election commission is now a lifetime appointment, as well as the commissioners office, and so it seems pretty difficult to just nominate a new election commission every single year,” Carrigan said. “With that in mind, our goal is to ensure that we can pass information down from generation to generation.” 

After the discussion, all three candidates were unanimously confirmed by both branches of SU, concluding the joint session.

Treasury Appeals

Seven student groups appealed for a total of $28,531.66. Treasury approved $26,479.96 of funds to be allocated to the various student groups, bringing the semester total to $61,165.49.

Club Hockey appealed for funds to compete in the Northwestern Tournament in Evanston, IL, requesting a total of $5,260. This request included $4,000 for a charter bus, $960 for eight hotel rooms, and $300 for food. 

The request for funds to cover meals was eliminated due to Treasury policy to not fund food. Club Hockey’s request for a charter bus was a point of contention amongst Treasury members. In their appeal, the club cited safety and economic concerns. Treasury policy dictates that groups are not allowed to drive between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m. to avoid accidents, which the group mentioned might be an issue due to their tournament schedule. 

Treasury Representatives suggested spending extra nights at the hotel to allow the team to drive at earlier times in the day, which would save money overall.  

The debate also centered around the role that precedent should play in their decision-making process, since Treasury had funded a similar request in the past. The representatives came to the consensus that precedent from previous years should not dictate the policies of the new Treasury.

After further discussion, Treasury representatives decided they would fund the hotels in full and subsidize a portion of the club’s request for a charter bus. Club Hockey was funded $3,779, subsidizing $2,819 of the requested $4,000 for a bus. 

KWUR, WashU’s student-led radio station club, appealed for additional funds. It hoped to cover the artist fee and backline fee for Tchotchke in order to provide a free concert for undergraduate students. KWUR requested $2,600 and was funded in full. $1,750 of the funds are for the artist fee, which cover the performing artists’ transportation and lodging.

Mock Trial appealed for funds to attend the 27th Yale Invitational and received $4,794. 

The Wilderness Project appealed for additional funds for its Fall Break Backpacking Trip, requesting $2,589.26; it was funded $2,442.96, as it did not receive funding for portable chargers.

Run Club appealed for funds to cover race entry fees and transportation costs for the GO STL! Halloween Race. It requested $7,964, which was funded in full.

Quiz Bowl was allocated $1,402 to cover the cost of a tournament at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Club Tennis appealed for funding for two separate tournaments: the Illini Invite and the USTA Tennis on Campus Mississippi Championship. The club requested $1,662 and $1,836, respectively, for the events — both of which were funded in full.

Saish Saytal is a member of the Student Life editing team. He did not have any influence or oversight of the reporting, writing, or editing of this article.